Pakistan Automobile Industry

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Sindh cabinet okays 250 new hybrid electric buses for Karachi and Hyderabad

Minister Transport and Mass Transit Awais Qadir Shah briefed the cabinet that his department would procure 250 Diesel Hybrid Electric Buses under the Sindh Intra-District People Bus Service project.

He told the cabinet that these buses would operate in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad.

The Mass Transit department has hired a professional consultant and the project would cost Rs8 billion, the minister told the meeting.

The cabinet approved the proposal and gave go-ahead to the Transport department to procure the buses.
The chief minister said that he would provide necessary funds to the department for the purpose and termed it “good news for the people of six districts.”

 

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Pakistan completed a 15-day trial run of the K9 pure electric bus recently in Karachi.
Co-produced by China's leading new energy vehicle manufacturer BYD and its Pakistani partners,
it is the first pure electric bus in Pakistan and the 1st formal commercial vehicle in Sindh Province.

 

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Changan Pakistan may launch three more cars

Changan Pakistan, the makers of minivan Karvaan, mini pickups M8 and M9, and sedan Alsvin, is now considering launching two SUVs Uni-T and Oshan X7, and double cabin pick-up Hunter.

The 1.5 litre turbo charged small crossover Uni-T falls in the category of Kia Sportage, Toyota CH-R and Nissan Juke.

Meanwhile, Oshan X7, which is also 1.5 turbocharged but a bit bigger and comparable to MG Motors’ MG-HS and Hyundai Tucson.

The 1.9 litre Turbo Charged Hunter is comparable to Isuzu D-Max and Toyota Hilux.

The company has confirmed that it has been testing the three vehicles on Pakistan roads but it has declined to share which cars which will eventually be launched in the country.

“We can launch all three vehicles or launch only a single car,” said a company source. “It is yet to be decided but we are working to bring more cars on our list.”

An auto sector expert Usman Ansari, who runs a blogging website carspiritpk.com, said that Hunter pickup is a competitor of Isuzu D-Max and Toyota Hilux Revo

 

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CBU units of HAVAL Jolion have already arrived at the Sazgar Engineering factory in Lahore . Looks like the company will be launching this SUV sooner than we might expect.

 

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Double-Decker Bus #1, Krishan Nagar via Mall
Lahore 1962

 

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Prince DFSK is Launching More SUVs in Pakistan Soon.

The parade of SUVs continues to make its way to the Pakistani market with no end in sight. With the prospective entrants in the market such as Haval Jolion, Changan Uni-T, Oshan-X7, Proton X50, Seres SF5, and lest we forget, BAIC BJ40, X25, and Chery Tiggo 8, the SUV market of Pakistan has all of a sudden become crowded.

However, Prince-DFSK is seemingly not finished introducing more SUVs in the Pakistani market just yet. As per several reports shared over the weekend, the Chinese automaker is planning to launch two new SUVs in Pakistan, namely, Seres S3 and the Glory 580 Pro Star version.

Seres S3

The Seres S3 is an all-electric crossover SUV that is set to be launched in the 3rd quarter of 2021. The SUV features a single electric motor and a 52 kWh battery pack that gives the SUV 160 horsepower, 300 Newton-meters of torque, and a range of between 230 and 405 kilometers.

Being a modern SUV, it has plenty of tech features that make for great value. Reports suggest that the price of the Seres S3 is likely to be around Rs. 5.5 million.

The other offering will be a more high-end variant of the DFSK Glory 580 SUV, the Star trim level.

Reportedly, the new trim-level will feature some cosmetic changes, a better out from similar 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a few additional features such as Lane Assistance, Blind Spot Detection, Front Car Collision Warning, and Adaptive Cruise Control.

Speculations are being made that this higher trim variant of the DFSK Glory 580 will also cost around Rs. 5.5 million, although no reports have been shared by the automaker itself about the prices of any of the new entrants.

Last week, Prince DFSK revealed on its official Facebook page yesterday that another new SUV is being co-developed by DFSK and Huawei, and it could be “hitting the roads of Pakistan soon”. It would also be a Seres product called the SF5 which would be a premium EV, featuring the powertrain and mechanicals from DFSK and the software and tech features from Huawei.

It remains to be seen, however, as to which of the aforementioned cars would make it to the Pakistani market soon.

 

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Shibli criticises locally manufactured vehicles over poor quality

After terming the locally manufactured ventilators useless, Minister of Science and Technology, Senator Shibli Faraz, has also claimed that the vehicles being manufactured and assembled in the country are not as per international standards.

During a meeting with officials of Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the minister opined that despite the ever jumping prices of local vehicles, their quality was not up to the global standard.

As per official sources, the minister, while referring to substandard goods being prepared in the country, said that despite the skyrocketing prices of cars in the country, their safety standard and quality were far behind the one set in the international market.

 

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Volkswagen to set up manufacturing in Hub , Balochistan on 10th May

The assembly plant will reportedly have the capacity of producing 28,000 vehicles per annum. According to the original plan, the construction was supposed to begin in 2020, but things got delayed due to the onset of the pandemic.

A couple of days ago, some media outlets shared the news that Volkswagen is starting the construction of a new Plant in Balochistan, Pakistan. The news was later confirmed by nationally trusted auto blog, Pakwheels.
According to the news, the construction will start within this quarter, while some claiming that the construction will begin on the 10th of May. According to Pakwheel’s sources, “The plant will be constructed in approximately 2 years”.

It all began in 2018 when the German auto giant Volkswagen AG and Premier Motors limited signed an agreement to manufacture commercial vehicles in Hanover. An investment of $135 million was agreed for the construction of an assembly and production plant in Pakistan

 

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1955

 

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Chinese Company RNL Technologies plans to start manufacturing electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Pakistan! A real boost for Pakistani electric vehicle industry.

 

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Volkswagen to manufacture Amarok Truck and Transporter Van in Pakistan which will compete with Toyota Hilux and Kia Grand Carnival.
The plant will have the capacity to produce 28,000 vehicles annually.

 

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Green Line, Orange Line BRT: Chinese company to provide 100 new energy buses



BEIJING: Zhongtong, one of the earliest listed bus manufacturers in China has secured an order to provide 100 units 18-meter new energy buses for Green Line and Orange Line Bust Rapid Transport (BRT) in Karachi.

As the first batch of new energy powered city buses in the city, they will serve on the Green-color and Orange-color BRT routes after their arrival, providing greener, more intelligent and more comfortable transportation services for local residents, according to a local media website here on Wednesday.

As the largest city in Pakistan, Karachi is also the economic hub in the country. With its strategic location and fast growing economy, the port city has been confronted with increasingly severe traffic congestions. Tweeting in Urdu from his official account recently, Federal Minister of Planning and Development Asad Umar informed about the completion of a prototype bus for Karachi’s Green Line Metrobus project.

It is currently being tested by the Chinese authorities for any mechanical and safety issues. Once the phase of the inspection is completed, a total of 80 buses will be shipped to Karachi and added to Green Line’s fleet. The mass transit project is expected to become operational in this year.

Green Line Bus Rapid Transit is a federal government project. It is the largest of all the other proposed metro bus routes in Karachi.

It is expected that after completion, it will facilitate over 300,000 passengers on a daily basis. Construction on the project started in January 2016 by the Karachi Infrastructural development Company (KIDC) and, nearly three years later, it is still underway.

Starting from Merewether Tower in the central part of the city, all the way up to Surjani Town in northern Karachi, the total length of Green Line BRT is 26 km.

According to the proposed map, it will be connected with the other proposed routes of the Trans Karachi Breeze project at different points.

It may be mentioned here that so far, Zhongtong’s new energy public transportation solutions have been greatly welcomed in South Korea, Argentina, Germany, Chile, Paraguay, Hungary, etc.

In addition, over 70,000 units Zhongtong new energy buses and coaches have been working smoothly across the globe, making a huge impact on the global drive on emission reductions.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

I'm waiting for MG extender. Wonder if it's worth the hype.
Also await delivery of my HS. Booked in Feb.